The choke on the slant in my '65 Cuda has been giving me some major fits lately, especially since it's been below freezing in the mornings, thereby making starting the car and driving it to work a major pain. I originally took my car in to my mechanic a few weeks ago to have the choke/idle set and he had to make the fuel mixture run a lot richer in order to keep the engine from stalling on cold mornings (and evenings) on my daily commute. In doing so, I've noticed that my gas mileage has really suffered, but that's neither hear or there... The real problem seems to be that the choke stove isn't heating up enough to warm the choke so that the rod comes down and it can settle into a smooth idle. The side of the manifold (right below the choke) is open, and my mechanic seems to think that's why it's not warming up enough. He said he might try to fabricate a piece of sheet metal flashing down over it to try and keep it warmer, but I was wondering if there was maybe something else we could get for it (a different choke perhaps?) that would trap that heat in there.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. I would like to call my mechanic back this afternoon with some tips (maybe a part to order), but I'm not taking the car in there until next Tuesday.

Thanks,
kopper

P.S. The choke is relatively new. I think we replaced it last spring, IIRC.

_________________
'65 Slant Six Barracuda
St. Louis Area Mopars (SLAM)

Do you have a later exhaust manifold with the open back wall?

The old bi-metallic , non-heated chokes are a "constant friend" when you live in an area that has a wide range of temp. through-out the year. Even in my area, I tend to adjust my choke spring twice a year, tighter in the spring, looser in the winter.

Does your mechainic know how to adjust the unit's spring tension?
You want it to shut as lightly as possible when it's dead cold, so it starts to come-off with little heat. Have you reviewed the choke adjustment article?
DD

well on mine where going to switch to a manual choke

_________________
1972 Plymouth Duster 225 Super Six Slant

Just a few thoughts, since I had similar problems on my '71v8 & '75/6.

The first time, the choke spring must have fractured partially and would open way, way to fast - couldn't adjust it out. In cold Michigan weather it would start great, go one block, stall out every time I put it into gear until it warmed up - my very temporary fix was to pour water into the choke well to cool it off long enough to get going again. New choke spring fixed the problem.

The choke unloader failed, and the Dodge dealership guys weren't smart enough to replace it - just set the choke crazy trying to compensate. Replaced and adjusted unloader.

Then the electric choke header circuit quit; I can't remember whether it was a thermal or time switch anymore, just replaced the switch.

Then I went to a J.C.Whitney electric choke kit; it corroded and started sticking very quickly and I ended up modifying it using machined teflon parts I made. Eventually I got it to work passibly and it lasted for many years.

Yes, I believe that might be the case. So you're saying that the open back wall was not standard on mid-'60s slants?
Edit: Found the article and printed it out. Thanks!

kopper

_________________
'65 Slant Six Barracuda
St. Louis Area Mopars (SLAM)